Mission Get Agent Chang to Relax and other nightmares
by Caraniel
Summary: Wufei has been working himself to death to avoid the nightmares that plague his sleep. Duo accepts the mission to get the notoriously stubborn man to relax. Easier said than done when Duo's sleep is equally troubled. 2x5
1. Chapter 1

_AN: Okay, so I recently rewatched Gundam Wing for like the seventh time, and was suddenly struck by the desire to scribble down a 2x5 fic. No one likes Wufei, he's a bit of a dick, but I find him interesting. So this is me trying to figure out why...and pairing him with Duo. Because Duo makes everything better!_

**Mission "Get Agent Chang to Relax" and other nightmares**

**Chapter 1**

Wufei made his way through the Preventers offices as quickly as he physically could without running. Lady Une had seen fit to have this latest debriefing run on for hours and Wufei was within a hairs breadth of sleeping on his feet. All he wanted was to get to his own office, lock the door and take a nap on the horribly lumpy sofa he kept in there for such occasions. Nodding curtly to the other agents who greeted him as he passed, Wufei finally saw his office door and had to use all his self restraint not to just sprint the last few meters to that tiny room of blessed solitude. The latest mission had been tough, nothing much of a real challenge for a Gundam pilot, but the endless meetings and paperwork after the actual fieldwork was where the real challenge lay. Things were simpler during the war where all he had to do was blow shit up and leave to go blow more shit up. No need for writing endless reports…..in triplicate. God how he hated paperwork.

Finally reaching his office, Wufei quickly locked the door, pulled the blinds and shed his boots, jacket and tie before pulling a tiny pillow and light blanket out from one of the many filing cabinets filling his tiny office. Une had offered him a much larger office closer to her own, but Wufei preferred this one since he had made all the necessary safety adjustments to it. Even though he had helped design the security for this building, Wufei still didn't feel completely safe without adding a few extra touches to his own space. Residual paranoia from the wars he supposed. Tugging the tie from his hair and scraping a hand through the inky strands, Wufei sighed, put his phone on divert to the administration staff, flicked off the lamps and threw himself onto the sofa ready to grab an hour's nap. He still had to finish the seemingly endless paperwork for this case, so he'd mostly likely be stuck in the office till the small hours.

Wufei groaned at the thought – lord knew he needed a holiday, but the thought of all the work that would pile up in his absence made him shudder. Also the nightmares had been flaring up again recently, being around other people kept them at bay. The idea of spending time on his own with those horrible visions circling his mind honestly scared him. Much better to stay here at work, where he never got to sleep long enough for the nightmares to truly surface. With that thought in mind, Wufei finally allowed his weary body to relax, sinking into welcome oblivion.

* * *

Duo looked up at the Preventers offices and grinned. He was feeling a bit restless again; Hilde had noticed the signs and quickly decided to go visit some of her friends on another colony before Duo roped her into doing some sort of extreme sport again. Hilde claimed she would never go on a trip he planned ever again, not after the "adventure holiday" he dragged her on last time Duo had got a touch restless. Duo had tried contacting Heero to see what the ever stoic perfect solider was up to (and if there was anything Duo could help him blow up), but Heero informed him that he was simply providing security to the former Queen of the World, and there would be no explosions to be had on Heero's watch. Trowa was another dead end; he was busy overseeing Quatre's security as the blond undertook yet another business trip. But there was very little need for three Gundam pilots on that detail.

So that left Wufei and the Preventers. Lady Une had told them all that they were always welcome to come to her for work. Wufei was the only one of the five of them that decided to stay on full-time, but Heero often took missions when they needed his expertise, as did Trowa whenever Quatre or the Circus didn't need him. Duo had yet to take Une up on the offer, being somewhat reluctant to get stuck into all the restrictions and paperwork official Preventer work entailed. Somehow he had difficulty imagining him fitting the Preventer mould the way Wufei did – Duo wasn't exactly the most 'honourable' of fighters. He chuckled to himself; well at least there was more of a chance of him getting to blow some shit up here than anywhere else. Hilde was right; Duo was a complete adrenaline junkie, all this peace was starting to make his trigger fingers itch for some action.

Duo had called Une a few days previous, asking if she needed his particular brand of expertise with anything. He remembered clearly the appraising look she had given him on the vid-phone, shuffling through a few papers before a tiny smile crept onto her face. Duo almost hung up on her at that point, feeling that nothing good come of that smile, but he squared his shoulders and told her that he'd be at her office in a few days. So here he was, sauntering through the building like he owned the place, waving to the handful of familiar faces he saw while simultaneously scoping out the security and exits. It was all pretty solid, a few blind spots that he could see, but nothing major. Unsurprising really, given that Wufei had designed the security with Heero's help.

Upon reaching Une's secretary, Duo perched himself on her desk and gave her his brightest smile, "could you tell Commander Une that the God of Death has come a-knocking?", he asked.

The woman, merely glared over her glasses at him, "if you would care to take a seat Mr Maxwell, Commander Une will be with you momentarily".

Slightly deflated by the lack of reaction (although only to be expected given who the woman worked for), Duo threw himself into the nearest armchair and sighed dramatically. "It seems I have lost my touch, no one fears Death anymore".

"I wouldn't say that Maxwell, we've just danced with the reaper too often and know his moves by now," came a cool, clipped voice from over his shoulder.

Duo leaned his head back, observing the figure in the office door upside down and waving a sloppy salute, "hey there Commander Une, looking sharp as always" he drawled.

"I see you haven't changed a bit either", replied Une mildly, arching an eyebrow at the young man draped over the armchair, long braid coiled on the floor behind him; "if you would step into my office, I can brief you on the mission I have in mind for you".

Duo sprang lightly out of the chair, stepping up to Une's side and beaming up at her "Will there be explosions?" he enquired, indigo eyes sparkling. Une merely gave another enigmatic smile, "Come in and we will discuss the details" she replied.

Duo skipped in past her and made himself at home in one of the chairs in front of the Commander's desk. The secretary followed him in with a tea tray before withdrawing and closing the door. Once Une had settled herself at the desk, she fixed Duo with a sharp gaze, causing him to self consciously sit up straighter. There was just something about this woman that demanded respect, Duo admired that.

"So what mission do you have for me?" he enquired.

"Well it isn't so much a formal mission as a personal favour", Une replied, smiling at him again. Duo raised an eyebrow in reply, "Go on" he encouraged.

Une sighed, frowning slightly, "Agent Chang…..Wufei, he needs to take a break before he collapses," she stated.

Duo frowned at her, "Can't you just order him to take some personal leave? Surely you don't need me to drag him out of his office. I thought you needed some shit blown up!"

"Maxwe- Duo. Please. I'm honestly at a loss about how to get him to take a break. Every time I suggest it, he finds some other mission, or report, or flaw in security to tackle and forgets all about looking after himself – it's almost like he doesn't want to be alone. Sally has tried talking to him as well, but short of ordering him on medical leave there's nothing she can really do, and there's no grounds for medical leave right now. Duo, he rarely goes home, he's practically living in that shoebox of an office he insists on keeping." Une, massaged her temples, gazing earnestly at Duo, "I really need your help on this. I think he'll only listen to one of you pilots."

"Surely Quatre would be a better choice, he's the one who's good with all the Space Heart-y feelings stuff, I'm the stealth and demolitions expert, and 'Fei and I aren't exactly bosom buddies!" Duo whined, although he was curious to see the other pilot now, just to see if Wufei was really as neurotic as Une was making him out to be.

"Winner was my preferred choice, but he's been much too busy to take the time to help out. Yuy suggested I ask you when I consulted him".

"Heero suggested me!?" Duo asked incredulously, "Okay yeah, sure. I get that Heero is much too similar to Wufei be of much use, he'd probably start helping 'Fei with whatever project he invented next." Duo sighed again, "and Tro would be just as bad given he rarely strings more than five words together. Guess that just leaves me and Quat, and if Quat is busy I'm the last resort. Fan-fucking-tastic." Duo flopped back in his chair, pouting at the woman in front of him. "I wanted to blow crap up, not babysit Wufei I-have-a-massive-stick-rammed-up-my-ass Chang."

"I'd really appreciate your help on this Duo, I don't want my best agent to work himself into an early grave" Une beseeched, probably knowing from the look Duo was giving her that he was going to help out anyway. "And once you get back from the holiday I promise to find a mission for you with a suitable amount of explosions" she winked at him.

"Okay sold!" Duo beamed at her, "So where do I find Mr Workaholic?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Ch 2**

Une guided Duo to Wufei's office, pointing out people he might have known and areas of interest – basically he was getting the grand tour. Duo was only half paying attention to what the woman was saying, his mind too busy plotting how to get the infamously stubborn Agent Chang to consent to taking a break. Clearly saying it was for the man's own good was not going to work, the other Preventers had already gone that route. Similarly just breezing in and asking Wufei to go on a trip with him for no reason was out – Wufei needed motivation and if looking out for his own health wasn't going to cut it, maybe phrasing it so it was helping Duo out would work. Wufei, after all, had a responsible streak a mile wide – he could perhaps be guilt-tripped into agreeing. Duo grinned, a cunning light entering his eyes. This was going to take some serious acting.

Une looked at the young braided man walking with causal grace by her side, and smirked at the mischievous look on Duo's face; Wufei didn't stand a chance.

Duo was stirred out of his plans when Une stopped in front of a non-descript door at the end of a small corridor. Duo took a look round him and nodded, "I can see why 'Fei wanted this office, easy to secure with plenty of escape routes."

Une just sighed, "You're all so paranoid. Anyway, he's got this place locked down as if he has the world's secrets hidden away in there, I won't be able to let you in so I'll let you figure it out from here." She placed a hand on his shoulder, "Wufei needs at least a month away from here. Despite what he seems to think the world won't collapse without him. I want him completely rested before he even considers reporting back for duty; of course if I have an absolute emergency that requires the expertise of a Gundam pilot I'll contact you both immediately, otherwise – enjoy your break."

Duo snapped a quick salute, "Yes ma'am, mission to get Agent Stubborn-as-Hell to relax accepted! I do hope you realise this has like an S-class difficulty rating", he said grinning at her.

Une just smiled back, "Why do you think I needed a Gundam pilot?" she replied before waving a quick salute and heading back to her office, leaving Duo to puzzle out the complex locks on Wufei's office door. He cracked his knuckles; this was going to be fun.

* * *

Something was wrong. That's what Wufei's inbuilt alarm system was telling him, urging the ex-pilot to wake up a lot quicker than he was planning. Someone was in his office. His_ locked_ office. His locked office with the insane security system and complex locks that the other Agents scoffed at for being too elaborate. But someone was inside. Wufei's eyes snapped opened and in one fluid motion grabbed his gun and moved to pin the intruder in its sights.

"Do not move. I will not hesitate to shoot", he stated coolly.

The figure appeared to deflate slightly, dropping something to the floor and holding its hands up, "Okay, okay. You've got me. Thought I'd finally caught you off guard too…."

Wufei frowned. That voice was much too familiar, but his groggy mind couldn't quite pin it down. He flicked on his desk light, "Maxwell!" he exclaimed, "What the hell are you doing in my office?"

Duo glared at him, "fancy putting down the gun 'Fei, I just came to see one of my bestest friends." He fluttered his eyelashes.

Wufei rolled his eyes, "It's _Wu_fei," he corrected automatically while flicking the safety back on the gun and putting it back in his holster, "and I find it hard to believe you'd come all the way to Preventer HQ to see me out of the blue, without _some_ sort of ulterior motive".

Wufei sighed heavily, dropping back onto the sofa and rubbing the heels of his hands into his tired eyes, "What the hell time is it anyway?" he muttered, glancing around for his phone. He saw Duo bend to lift the object he had dropped, "A marker? Were you planning to _draw_ on me Maxwell!?" Wufei asked incredulously.

Duo had the grace to look chagrined, scratching at the back of his head, "Ah, come on 'Fei, was just a joke! Had to get back at you for the ridiculous time I had getting through the bloody door. You've got more security on that thing than Une has on her office! Who are trying to keep out?"

Wufei glared half-heartedly at the braided idiot. Of all the pilots to come calling when he was feeling so exhausted, it would have to be the most talkative of the lot of them. Sure Winner had the gift of the gab, but at least he knew when to shut up. Maxwell couldn't bear silence for too long, something that nearly drove Wufei insane when they were imprisoned together at the Lunar Base. It never seemed to matter that Wufei rarely responded to his endless chatter; Maxwell could hold an animated conversation with a stool. It was pretty impressive really, all the more given that Maxwell's speciality was stealth, but not something Wufei was in the correct frame of mind for right now.

"I was trying to get some sleep before tackling my reports. Some of us are extremely busy," Wufei eventually responded. "I hope you didn't damage any of my locks while you were breaking in, if you did you're fixing them before you leave" he growled.

"Come on Wufei, you know I'm better than that. All your little toys are safely disabled and intact – was a pretty good workout actually, I was getting a touch rusty", Duo declared while wandering around Wufei's office, picking up random objects and inspecting them. He paused at the pin board to study the pictures Wufei had stuck there. "These are nice, I don't remember some of them being taken" he muttered, head tilted curiously, attention fixed on the photo's Sally had foisted on him. It was strange to see Duo in his office. The pilot's ever present black outfits stuck out in the plain surroundings, the thick chestnut braid swinging behind him and catching the light and bringing out coppery highlights. Wufei rubbed at his eyes again. This was not the time to get distracted by Maxwell's ridiculous hair.

"Sally Po, that insufferable woman. She took them while we were on Peacemillion. Heaven knows where she found the time given we were at a critical juncture of the war", he shrugged, "I can get you copies if you want".

Duo spun round, eyes twinkling, "I'd like that. Thanks Wufei – I don't have any pictures of the five of us". He finished up his inspection of Wufei's sparse office, and skipped over to sprawl on the sofa beside Wufei. "So…..how's life?!" he asked brightly.

Wufei arched a brow at the other boy, "I just told you I'm busy. If you've just popped by for a chat I'm afraid I just don't have the time to indulge you Maxwell."

He moved to get up and show Duo the door, only to be stopped by Duo's hand wrapped round his arm, dragging him back to a sitting position. Wufei spluttered indignantly, "What you are playing at Maxwell? Unhand me at-"

Wufei cut himself off when he got a look at Duo. The usually hyperactive twit was sitting quite still, shoulders slumped and head hung down so his eyes were hidden behind his long bangs.

"Maxwell?" Wufei enquired, shifting to try to get a look at the other pilot's face. Duo merely shook his head, drawing in a shaky breath.

"'Fei, I really need a favour. You're the only one I can ask", he murmured softly.

"What is it? I'll help if it's something I can do" Wufei responded, caught off kilter his innate sense of responsibility was kicking in. People didn't often come to him for favours, since he knew he was very difficult to approach.

Duo slowly lifted his head to meet Wufei's eyes with his large indigo eyes shimmering with tears, "Come on holiday with me!" he implored.

Wufei just boggled at him, "WHAT?" he roared.


	3. Chapter 3

**Ch 3**

It was taking all of Duo's self control to stop himself from breaking out into fits of laughter at the indignant look on Wufei's face, but he just about managed to keep all traces of amusement from surfacing and held the look of teary desperation he had perfected years ago. He would have made a wonderful actor in another lifetime.

"Please Wufei, I'm being completely serious here. I just need to get away for a few weeks...I'm having...I'm having flashbacks. Nightmares. Hilde doesn't really understand, the others are away and they didn't experience it anyway...but you'll understand. You were there." Duo tried not to go overboard with his performance; Wufei would only get suspicious if he pretended to be a nervous wreck. It was mostly true anyway, that cloying feeling of slowing suffocating to death often resurfaced in his nightmares, although they didn't happen too often to be a huge problem.

"The Lunar Base", Wufei muttered, sighing heavily and sinking back into the cushions, rubbing the bridge of his nose wearily. "I do understand Maxwell, honestly I do. But I can't just up and leave – I have important work here."

Duo smiled inwardly, this was actually proving to be easier than he thought, normally Wufei would have told him to take his personal problems and go tell someone who cared. One more little push should do it, "I know that 'Fei, I wouldn't usually bother you with this stuff, God knows I bothered you enough at the time – but I'm about to snap, you know? I just feel like some quiet time away in some peaceful part of the world would help, but I won't relax if I'm alone. I'm sure you understand, we're always on edge when there's no one else about to keep watch," he ducked his head self-consciously and took a deep breath, feeling Wufei studying him.

The silence stretched on and Duo began to worry that this little scheme was going to fail, but then Wufei let out a whoosh of breath, "I...I'm also in dire need of a break. I'm pretty much in the same situation as you", he smiled wanly at Duo, "I'll speak with Commander Une to see if she can spare me for a while. I have plenty of leave to take so it shouldn't be a problem. But I'll be on call; if they need me I'll have to leave".

Duo allowed himself a small grin, reaching out to grasp Wufei's shoulder, "Thanks man, I really owe you one," he said softly, holding Wufei's tired gaze. Now that he had seen the Chinese pilot he knew why Une was so adamant he take a break. Wufei seemed drawn, tired in a way that went deeper than the physical exhaustion they were both intimately acquainted with. His usually sharp coal-black eyes were dull, rimmed in red and shadowed with dark smudges and his features were oddly pinched. Duo thought it to be it a decidedly bad look and needed remedied ASAP.

They sat for a while in comfortable silence, Duo's mind whirling with plans, until he was startled back to reality by a weight landing on his shoulder. He glanced to the side to find Wufei had fallen asleep again, breathing deep and even, the frown lines on his face smoothing out as he slept. Duo found himself smiling against his will, moving slowly to ease his friend back down onto the sofa to rest a bit more. Standing up and moving to Wufei's desk, Duo set to work finishing what he could of Wufei's substantial in-tray. One less thing for the other pilot to stress over when he woke.

He had been working for about an hour when his attention was brought back to the slumbering pilot. Wufei had started to fuss in his sleep; brow deeply furrowed a few low moans sounding in the back of his throat. Duo was on his feet an across the room when Wufei gave a particularly violent twist, mouth curling into a snarl.

He grabbed onto Wufei's shoulders, struggling to hold him still, "Hey Wufei! Wufei, wake up! It's okay 'Fei, it's only me. It's Duo. Wake up 'Fei!"

Wufei continued to toss for another minute, tears leaking out from the corners of his eyes, until with a low whine of misery he went limp under Duo's hands and gave a shuddering gasp into wakefulness.

The Chinese pilot stared up at Duo unseeing for a moment and then blinked, "D-duo?" he panted.

"Yeah, it's me 'Fei. You were having a nightmare, but it didn't last too long", Duo rushed to reassure the other man.

"Right. Thanks", Wufei muttered as he moved to sit up, dashing away tell-tale tear tracks with angry fingers. Duo could actually see the protective shields Wufei typically held around himself snapping back into place one by one, as the Preventer agent set about smoothing out his clothing and hair, before meeting Duo's eyes again.

"Sorry Maxwell, I'm just really...tired..." he trailed off, a slight blush staining his cheeks, looking simultaneously angry and embarrassed.

Duo frowned at the return of his surname, he was forever telling Wufei that his name was _Duo_, but the Chinese pilot always insisted on calling everyone by their surname. It was getting annoying. "You've nothing to apologise for Wufei, I came here because I'm having the same problem, remember?"

Wufei just nodded glumly, "The flashbacks are so vivid I sometimes forget our war is over".

Duo held his eyes, grasping one of Wufei's forearms tightly and shaking it slightly to make his point, "I know. I understand. We can get through this together – before someone gets the bright idea to send us to a shrink. We all know how that turned out the last time," he stated a ghost of a smile playing across his lips.

Wufei stared back at him for a few long moments, before he nodded again, "I'll go see Commander Une now" he said moving to stand and gather his discarded jacet and tie.

Duo sat back and watched him. With each piece of his uniform restored and tidied into place, Wufei began to look more like his aloof, unflappable self. He watched the Chinese pilot set about scraping his hair back into the tight ponytail the man favoured, and marvelled at the difference it made to Wufei's appearance. Gone was the young man with old, tired eyes and back was the sharp, battle-hardened soldier – immaculately presented as always. Only Wufei could have managed to make it through the war clothed in white silk, Duo thought with amusement. Wufei finished lacing up his boots and stood, shoulders squared.

"I'll be back within the hour. The cafeteria is on the third floor if you're hungry...or bored", he said, moving towards the door.

Duo nodded, "Think I'll hang here and finish some of that mountain of paperwork that your desk is vanishing under" he replied with rye amusement.

Wufei gave a small smile in return, "I'd appreciate that. Just don't write any of my reports in your signature style, Une may have heart failure over your more_ colourful_ language choices", he warned already walking though the door.

Duo just laughed; clearly he would have to write the rest of Wufei's reports in the most imaginative manner he could think of. And Duo was nothing if not imaginative. Une could consider it payback for luring him into this favour; Wufei wasn't a bad person, just pretty damn difficult to be around for an extended period of time. The Chinese pilot was severely unsociable, even more so than Heero at times. At least Heero had the excuse of his 'Perfect Soldier' upbringing, and the Japanese man was getting better as time went on, but Wufei just seemed to dislike people in general and wasn't particularly worried about ruffling feathers with his abrasive personality. Yeah, it was pretty tough to deal with Wufei one-to-one for an extended period of time; Duo wasn't sure how he was going to cope with this little 'holiday' he'd been roped into.

With a deep sigh, he pushed all those questions to the side, he'd think about it later, but first he had to put his resourceful imagination to good use to tackle Wufei's paperwork, and make a quick call to Quatre.

* * *

Wufei closed his office door behind him, pausing in the empty hallway to collect his thoughts. Duo's arrival was throwing him out of sorts – he was both pleased to see the other pilot and somewhat annoyed that Duo was disrupting his routine...and then there was the fact Duo had seen him when he had fallen prey to the nightmares, and cried. That was the part that made him burn with shame – Wufei Chang, crying like a girl over a stupid nightmare. He balled his fists, forcing down the angry flush and stepped into the bathroom to splash some cold water on his face.

If he was honest Maxwell was probably the preferable choice out of the other four Gundam pilots. Yuy would have just stared at him with that unnerving blue gaze of his, until Wufei worked himself down from the rafters. Barton would have been marginally better, but the Heavyarms pilot was as much a conversationalist as Yuy and Wufei still had trouble fully trusting the tall man – he was entirely too good at infiltrating enemy ranks. Winner would have been worst of all though, the goddamned bleeding heart wouldn't have left him alone until he had exposed all his troubles to the meddling blond; Winner could be disturbingly stubborn sometimes. Yes Maxwell was probably the safest option for Wufei - he was loud, irritating and incessantly nosey, but seemed to instinctively know just how far to push before easing up, and there was a lot more going on behind those indigo eyes than the braided pilot liked to let on. Plus there was Duo's admission that he was suffering from the same nightmares and flashbacks as Wufei, and that eased the hot feeling of shame at his own weakness a bit. A tiny bit, but it still helped. Still, the last time he had spent a protracted amount of time alone with Duo Maxwell, they had been slowly suffocating to death on the Lunar Base – and Wufei had taken to mediating for hours on end before that just to avoid talking to the other boy. They were older now of course, and knew each other a bit better, but it would still be strange to spend time alone with Duo again.

Wufei took another look at himself in the mirror, noting the disturbing dark circles under his eyes. He really needed a break, and having another Gundam pilot to watch his back was more than he could really ask for. Wufei straightened his tie once again and headed towards Une's office. Time to go request the leave the woman had been pressing him to take for months.


	4. Chapter 4

**Ch 4**

Wufei was feeling decidedly off kilter when he left Une's office and set off back through the building. He'd had a whole pitch prepared to negotiate some time off for himself, and so was fully unprepared for Commander Une's delighted smile and quick approval of 'as much time off as Wufei wanted', before she ushered him out the door. Was he really that bad to work with that his normally borderline frosty commanding officer would be so glad to be rid of him? Wufei frowned angrily, causing any Agent that crossed his path to quickly scuttle off in the opposite direction. Here he was all but killing himself with work to help the Preventers out, and they couldn't wait to see the back of him!

"Wufei!" a voice called out to him.

He spun round "Agent Po", he greeted icily.

Sally was undeterred by the less than warm response, coming up beside him and slapping him on the shoulder, "It's Sally", she corrected easily. "Une tells me you're finally taking a well deserved holiday!" she beamed at him.

"News travels fast. Yes, Maxwell dropped by, he need my help with some things", Wufei replied tersely, seemed even Sally was pleased to see him gone; "I'm on call if you need me for anything, of course."

"Oh we'll be just fine without you for a while" Sally returned breezily, "So you're heading off with Duo then? That should be interesting", she quirked an eyebrow at him, "Do you want any of my tranquillisers?"

Wufei felt a tiny smile forming on his lips, "As tempting as that is, I don't think will be necessary."

"Well let me know if you need anything. Anything at all Wufei," she replied, holding his gaze for a few moments as if searching for something. Apparently satisfied Sally then nodded, "You'll be okay," she said softly.

Wufei raised a questioning brow at her, "I'm perfectly fine Po, just taking a leave of absence to help Maxwell out with some things and then I'll be back. Try not to run the organisation into the ground in the meantime, some of these Agents are much too careless", he warned.

Sally just glared back at him, "Wufei Chang, you are not the only capable agent in this organisation, the best certainly, but we can cover for you for a month or two. Now go off and grab some downtime – you deserve it and I'm delighted you're finally taking a break. Do you know how tired you've been looking lately?"

Wufei took a step back; he recognised the signs of a patented Sally Po lecture and was not keen to be subjected to another one about his health. "I'm perfectly healthy Po, all I need is a bit of downtime and I'll be back to 100% again. Now if you'll excuse me I've left Maxwell in my office and god only knows what he's been doing with my reports while I've been gone."

Sally huffed at him, hands on hips, "okay fine, but promise me you'll take it easy. Make sure you are fully rested before even considering coming back to work, or else I will find a way to get you into my surgery for a full medical exam!" she warned, glaring at the young man before her.

Wufei backed up again, "You have my word Agent Po. Now I've really got to get back to my office", he promised quickly while making a hasty retreat. Sally had been trying exceptionally hard to get him to consent to a full medical exam for weeks now, and Wufei had been trying equally as hard to avoid said exam. If a break from work was what it took to get the persistent woman off his case, then that was fine by Wufei. He stepped lightly through the building towards his office, keen to get away from everything as soon as humanly possible.

* * *

"Yes, of course Duo, I'll make the arrangements now. But are you absolutely certain you don't need me and Trowa to come too? I can rearrange some things to free up a bit of time you know," Quatre's aquamarine eyes were swimming with concern as he spoke with Duo over the vid-phone.

"No, no definitely not Quat. The less people about the better, you know how 'Fei gets in a group", Duo airily waved off the blond's concerns. "Anyway, Wufei'd suspect something was up if you and 'Tro suddenly landed at the door, I'm surprised he's even taken what I've been saying at face value to be honest – dude is absolutely exhausted". Duo frowned, "better if I handle things. No offence Quat but you can be a bit bossy when you're on a mission to fix something. Wufei doesn't need to be mothered, he just needs some alone time with someone he knows can watch his back."

Quatre made a face, "I don't 'mother' people!" he heaved a sigh, "Okay, if you think it's nothing serious. But promise me if you think Wufei's situation is more complex than you originally thought, that you'll call me straight away. I can arrange the necessary help."

"Right, you've got a deal, oh great and mighty Master Quatre, CEO of Winner Industries!" Duo made a flouncy bow to the disgruntled pilot on the screen.

"Hmph. Well the 'great and mighty Master Quatre' now has to attend yet another meeting, so I'll be going now. I'll send the details to your email and arrange for someone to open the villa and stock the pantry for you. Just let me know what time you're planning to arrive. Will you need any staff?"

"Nah, just another person to worry about. I'm sure 'Fei and I can handle ourselves. Thanks again Quatre, I was wonderin' where I could take 'Fei to unwind, your place in Italy should be perfect," Duo grinned at the other man.

"Okay if you're certain then...take care of yourselves and keep me informed! Bye," Quatre quickly hung up, and Duo leaned back in Wufei's office chair and stretched, "that's one more thing sorted".

He went back to working through Wufei's paperwork, and was just finishing off a detailed comic featuring a little stick figure Agent Chang on one of the reports when the real Agent Chang arrived back in the office. Duo gave him the once over, noting that Wufei looked pretty disgruntled - he resisted the urge to show off what he had done to Wufei's meticulous reports.

"How did it go? Can Une spare you any time soon?" Duo instead asked, trying to inject a note of trepidation into his voice.

"Commander Une apparently can't wait to see the back of me – Po too. Everyone seems to be falling over themselves to show me the door," Wufei gripped, throwing his jacket onto the back of the sofa and glaring at it.

Duo winced, way to be subtle Lady. Wufei clearly was mistaking his Commander's delight that he was finally looking after himself as Wufei's presence being unwelcome – the Chinese man's prickly pride was a bit bruised at the thought.

Duo moved to do damage control, "I'm sure they're just relieved that you, being the ever reliable Wufei Chang, are taking charge of the slightly unstable demolitions expert of the Gundam pilots. Plus you are looking a bit worn out yourself 'Fei, they probably want you to grab a well deserved vacation yourself. Or at least I'm sure that's what Sally is thinking".

Wufei made a non-committal grunt, "Po offered me tranquilisers when she heard I was going with you," he noted, a trace of amusement just leaking into his tone.

Duo gasped in mock horror, before fixing Wufei with a wry look, "For me or for you?"

"She seemed to be implying I may need them to shut you up at some stage; although if I used them on myself it would have the same effect I suppose," Wufei replied pretending to give the matter some thought.

Duo laughed, pleased that Wufei was at least attempting to humour him. He stood, straightening the kinks in his back, "Damn man, that chair is murder on your spine! Surely the Preventer's budget could spring for some cushions for their best agent," he groused.

"A hard chair is better for your posture," Wufei sniffed, "You have always had a horrendous slouch Maxwell".

Duo clasped a hand to his chest, "You wound me sir! We can't all have the posture of Wufei I-Have-A-Pole-Rammed-Up-My-Ass Chang."

Wufei threw his tie at him and then dropped back onto the sofa, "Shut up Maxwell, you drama queen", he replied airily. "So apparently I can take my leave whenever, and for however long I want. Did you have a plan?"

Duo dropped down next to the Preventer agent, "I spoke to Quat while you were with Une. Mentioned I wanted some downtime and was dragging you along for the ride – he said his villa in northern Italy is at our disposal. Wanna take him up on the offer? Quat & Tro are stuck on L4 in endless meetings for the foreseeable future so it will just be the two of us. Unless you want the servants Quatre offered? I turned him down on that one, didn't want to have to worry about any more people". Duo rolled his head back to rest on the back of the sofa, "Worried enough about being a pathetic lump in front of you as it is" he breathed out.

"You have nothing to worry about on that front" Wufei replied, causing Duo to turn to look at him in surprise, "You've always seemed to be a pathetic lump to me Maxwell."

Duo hit him with a pillow, "This is why you have so few friends Wufei, you are such a dick!" Duo stated hotly, crossing his arms and putting on a show of sulking.

Wufei gave a soft chuckle, "Italy sounds good. No servants – they'd only be mentally scarred or end up as collateral damage when we inevitably fight. I don't think either of us could afford to pay Winner back in that case."

Duo grinned, "My thoughts exactly. So when do you want to go? I've got as much of your paperwork cleared as I could manage based on your field notes. Rest is stuff you'll have to sort personally".

Wufei nodded, "Thanks for that, I'm sure Une will be delighted," he smirked, causing Duo's grin to widen. "Let's say we depart at the weekend, that will give me a couple of days to tie up loose ends and get my apartment secured while I'm away. I take it you'll be wanting my spare room in the meantime?" Wufei queried.

"Yeah, that would be great. Sorry for dropping in on you so suddenly man, I know I'm throwing a massive spanner into your routine," Duo replied, keeping that tired note of vulnerability in his voice to ensure that Wufei continued to think that this trip was mainly for Duo's benefit.

"I was pissed off to start with, but now I'm actually grateful, so don't worry about it Maxwell", Wufei stated warmly.

Duo frowned, "It's _Duo_. Come on 'Fei, it's been years! You can at least call me by my name – it's so formal to keep calling me 'Maxwell' all the time!"

Duo watched Wufei's eyebrow shoot up into his hairline, "Does it really bother you that much?" he asked, sounding slightly incredulous.

"Yes! It bugs _all_ of us, but I particularly don't like it. Duo is the name I chose for myself – I'm proud of it. Maxwell was given to me by the Priest in the orphanage, so of course I like it too; but I'm _Duo_ first and foremost so that's what my friends should call me!" he pressed hotly, poking a finger into Wufei's chest to annunciate his point.

Wufei held his hands up, leaning back from Duo's invasion of his personal space, "Alright! I understand! It's just a habit, I'll try harder from now on….D-Duo", he finished a tiny touch of a blush rising in his pale cheeks.

Duo sat back, satisfied, "There. That wasn't so hard now was it?" he grinned at Wufei. "We're gonna be stuck with each other for a while, so let's not attempt to piss each other off over the small things, eh?"

"Deal" Wufei returned easily, before getting up and moving to his desk. "I'll finish up this pile and then we'll leave for the day. I'm famished".

"Sounds good. I'll get outta your hair, gonna go have a wander round and chat to a few old faces," Duo said, waving over his shoulder as he walked through the door. He also needed to have a word with Une and Sally about their tactless wounding of Wufei's pride….


	5. Chapter 5

**Ch 5**

Wufei signed the last document with a flourish and stretched like a cat, feeling the satisfying pop of his joints slipping back into place. A quick glance at the clock told him it was definitely time to get out of here and get some food. Flicking off his computer and grabbing his personal belongings, Wufei reset his security system and set off in search Duo. He dropped off the completed paperwork with the admin team as he went past, an interesting combination of his usual dry reports, and Duo's much more colourful style (quite literally in some cases, Wufei didn't know he even had so many different colours of pen), they should provide some entertainment for the staff while he was gone.

Pausing for a moment he thought about where Duo was most likely to have installed himself, he headed for the cafeteria. Upon learning that yes, Maxwell had been holding court there until recently, Wufei made a bee-line for Sally's office. Hearing the faint strains of easy laughter floating down the corridor as he approached, Wufei knew he had made the correct call.

"-so Tro does his flippy, acrobatic clown thing – you know that somersault he does just to show off – over Quat's head, and just takes out the wannabe assassin all cool as fuck, before walking back off the podium. And Quatre, just nods, makes this gesture and, volia! Security appears to drag the body away and Quatre just carries on with his speech. You should have seen those stuffy shirts in the audience's faces! I wish I had of taken a camera," Duo whooped with laughter, Sally and a few other voices chiming in.

Wufei hesitated outside, not wanting to break-up the cheerful atmosphere. It was well known that Agent Chang did not do fun or irreverent conversation. If it wasn't something work related Wufei didn't see much point in anyone at the office talking to him at all, and over the years it seemed most of the Preventers agreed with him. A few still tried, Sally foremost among them, but most just left the former Gundam pilot to his own devices – he didn't even get invited to the office parties these days.

Wufei leaned against the wall outside the door, ready to wait for the current topic of conversation to wind up before he retrieved Duo. But he had only been there a minute when the door flew opened and Duo's head poked out.

"Wuffers!" he crowed, a wide grin spreading over his face as he ducked the punch Wufei threw at him in response to that latest nickname, "come join the party", he reached out to haul Wufei through the door. "I was just telling the guys about that assassination attempt on Quatre a few months back, pure gold!" he chattered, heedless of the fact Wufei was as responsive as the wall behind him.

"Agent Chang" came a few solemn nods in greeting, which Wufei returned in kind. Wufei saw Duo glancing around the room, a small frown on his face clearly wondering why the temperature of the room had just plummeted several degrees. Wufei just made himself comfortable leaning against the wall just inside the door, fully expecting the room to clear momentarily. Indeed five minutes later it was just Duo, Sally and himself left in the office. Wufei sighed, only thinking of dinner and bed.

Duo was sitting with a measured expression on his face, absentmindedly playing with the end of his braid, before getting up and helping Sally get her office back into shape. Wufei watching through half-lidded eyes as the doctor started fussing over the braided pilot.

"Well Duo, you take care of yourself. If you need me for anything, and I mean anything, you call me straight away" she stated, echoing the words she had spoken to Wufei a few hours previous.

"I'll be fine Sal, you worry too much. Anyway 'Fei will be there to look after me if things get too rough" he replied scratching at his ear looking mildly embarrassed.

"Ha! You'd better look after Wufei too – he'll forget to eat if you don't watch him", she fixed Wufei with a knowing glare, "and I still think it is a recipe for disaster for you two to be alone together for any length of time. Where are you going again? Just so I can keep an eye on the news for any mysterious explosions or homicides in the area", she enquired a gleam in her eye.

"One of Quatre's villa's in northern Italy, and come on Sal, 'Fei and I are big boys now – we can go a month or two without trying to kill one another I'm sure...I hope," he trailed off, turning a wide eyed look of feigned concern on Wufei.

Wufei snorted, pushing away from the wall, "okay that's enough meddling woman; we'll be fine. If there is a medical emergency like, oooh if I attempt to remove Maxwell's vocal cords, you will be the first to know. But now we have to get going. Good evening Sally."

Duo spluttered, surprised when Wufei started steering him bodily towards the door, "Alright, alright I can walk by myself," he fussed, "Bye Sally! We'll have to do this again some time – invite the whole crew and make a night of it!" he called waving at the woman.

"I'd like that. See you again Duo. Take care Wufei," Sally said closing the door behind the two men.

"So what's the plan 'Fei?" Duo asked twirling round to walk backwards to speak to Wufei.

"Dinner and bed" Wufei replied curtly.

"Oh my, don't you move fast!" Duo exclaimed, "It better be a good dinner if you want me in bed that quickly", he winked at Wufei.

Wufei felt himself turn beet red and started spluttering at the other man, "That's not- Where did you-!? Why would I-? Argh! Shut up Maxwell you braided idiot!" Wufei stormed on ahead, ignoring the gales of laughter Duo was struggling to control behind him.

"Oh god! Sorry, sorry- but, your face! You are so easy Wufei. Oh god my sides!" Duo leant against the wall trying to catch his breath, "Man, when was the last time you got laid?" he asked.

"We are not discussing my sex life Duo," or lack there of, Wufei added mentally. "Come on, I want to get out of this god forsaken place sometime tonight".

"Fine. Plenty of time for that conversation once we're on full holiday mode" Duo returned, still slightly breathless from his giggling fit.

"How will I know? You're always on holiday mode," Wufei threw back.

"Oh snap!" Duo replied with amusement, coming up to walk beside him and catching his eye, "trust me, you'll know."

Wufei just stared after the other man. Now why did that sound so ominous?

* * *

Duo curled into an armchair in Wufei's sitting room with a contented sigh and peered around him curiously, gleaning interesting titbits about his friend's life from the decor choices and books lining one of the walls. Who knew Wufei liked to read classic romance novels in his spare time, or apparently dabbled in watercolours? Wufei himself was busy bustling around the nicely proportioned two bed apartment, sorting out the spare room for Duo's impromptu stay. Duo hung back out of the way, not knowing where the spare linen was kept anyway, content to soak in the surroundings and watch the Chinese man in these somewhat unfamiliar surroundings. Duo had never been in Wufei's home before; they usually ended up meeting on neutral territory or at one of Quatre's places. Duo was hit by how cosy the apartment was, and how very _Wufei_ the place felt – it made him wonder just how bad the other pilot's flashbacks were that he would prefer crashing on that lumpy sofa in his tiny office, over the comfort of his own home. He'd have to pry that information from the dark-haired man over the coming weeks.

He got up and stretched, moving to the kitchen, "Do you want tea Wufei?" he called.

"If you would – just don't over-stew the tea leaves!" Wufei hollered back to him.

"If there is anything you've hammered into me, it is how to make a half decent pot of tea, Lord Chang", Duo shot back, already placing the kettle on the boil, and inspecting the various tea canisters he found in one of the cupboards.

Wufei moved into the kitchen behind him, "I had to – you almost poisoned me with that awful concoction you made when I visited," he noted, pointing to the jasmine tea.

Duo nodded, measuring some into the tea pot, "Brewing proper tea was hardly high on my list of training priorities you know," he returned handily, passing tea cups to Wufei, who put them on the small table in the corner along with the biscuit tin before taking a seat and watching Duo finish making the tea, nodding approval.

Duo rolled his eyes, Wufei was borderline obsessive about his tea – it was a sign of how his own tea making skills had improved that Wufei let him brew it at all. Taking the pot over to the table, he sat down opposite Wufei and inspected the biscuit tin, "Ooh choc-chip cookies!" he chirped, helping himself to a couple.

He surreptitiously peeked over his cup to watch Wufei as he pulled the tie out of his hair and massaged his temples wearily. "You should wear it down more often if it gives you a headache" Duo noted quietly, drawing those coal black eyes to him.

"It gets in my way when it's loose all the time", Wufei returned tucking some errant strands behind his ears.

"Well tie it back looser then, I can't see how it can be comfortable scraped back like that", he gestured in the general direction of Wufei's head.

The Chinese pilot gave a pointed look at Duo's own hair, "What, put it in a braid instead?" he scoffed.

"Keeps it out of the way and doesn't put too much stress on my scalp", Duo shrugged.

"Hn. Maybe I should just cut it," Wufei murmured, leaning back to contemplate the ceiling.

"No way 'Fei, you'd look totally oddball with short hair!" Duo exclaimed.

Wufei chuckled softly, "Yeah, I suppose so", he sighed, before giving another yawn. "I'm going to turn in Maxw- Duo", he corrected. "Bathroom is second door on the right; I've left towels in your room. Goodnight."

"G'night 'Fei," Duo returned, taking the tea cups and pot to the sink to wash out. He then thoroughly inspected Wufei's well appointed bookcase to see what other surprises he could uncover, but nothing other than the classic romances sprung out at him. The rest of the decor was tasteful, clearly oriental in origin and well cared for; but sparse overall and so Duo decided to turn in for the night as well. Tomorrow would be spent gathering supplies for their holiday while Wufei tidied up loose ends at work. Duo hadn't really packed for an extended vacation in Italy after all.


	6. Chapter 6

**Ch 6 **

Wufei scanned the area surrounding the villa with a critical eye from the co-pilot seat of Duo's shuttle. It all looked pretty secure, but he could already see a few places that needed tightening up, he'd have to something about that. Beside him Duo gave a low whistle while circling the private landing pad, "I knew we were friends with Quatre for a reason!" he crowed.

Wufei snorted with amusement, "I'll be sure to inform Winner of that little epiphany when we're next speaking to him", he said.

"Oh I've already told him that a few times – usually right after he shows me a new car, shuttle or house. Quatre knows I'm attracted to shiny things!"

"Why am I not surprised you told him flat out?" Wufei rolled his eyes.

"Because I'm Duo Maxwell – I might run and hide, but I don't lie", he winked at Wufei, who just rubbed the bridge of his nose in exasperation at that old introduction.

"Just concentrate on landing the shuttle, I don't want to meet the real Shinigami just yet" he stated.

Duo just laughed, but did give his attention to setting the shuttle down safely. Wufei watched him out of the corner of his eye. Duo didn't really seem much different to normal, there were no really obvious signs that he was close to breaking point and if it wasn't for Duo's own testimony that that was the case, Wufei would have brushed the worry off as nonsense. But in quieter moments Duo's bravado did falter and Wufei could catch glimpses of the truth underneath – the hard childhood the L2 orphan had, the bitter training he underwent and the traumas of the war they both experienced.

Duo covered things up so well he had always assumed that the braided pilot was the best adjusted of the five of them. Yuy was always clearly abnormal – his training had completely warped his personality, but he was definitely recovering thanks to the current peace, the other pilots and, most importantly, the influence of the Peacecraft Princess. Barton was only marginally better, but where Heero always stuck out due to his inability to follow social niceties, Trowa knew the game too well. Barton could blend into a group so well you'd think he'd always been there – Trowa could be whoever a person wanted him to be; brother, clown, loyal soldier, lover….he wore so many masks he started to lose sight of who he really was. But Barton had discovered who he wanted to be now, and was working hard to keep that goal fixed in his mind – Quatre had really helped him in that regard.

Winner was probably the best adjusted of them after Duo. Quatre was intimately acquainted with his flaws thanks to his loss of sanity during the wars. The Zero system had shown Quatre a side of himself he never wanted to acknowledge before, and the mistakes he made while under its influence were what pushed Quatre to work for true peace everyday of his life. Wufei was sure that without Trowa's steady influence Quatre would have worked himself to death by now, such was the depth of Quatre's feelings of guilt and compassion.

And then there was Wufei himself. Raised as heir to a prestigious clan, the world was his oyster if only he had of had the sense to see it. Instead his younger self felt stifled by the expectations placed on him, feeling like he was never going to be good enough for them. The overwhelmingly strong personality of the wife the clan arranged for him was just the final straw – she was everything the clan wanted_ him_ to be, but wasn't deemed fit to be the heir because she was a girl. But Wufei lost them all and spent his subsequent years continuing to strive for the approval of the dead, trying to never lose sight of who his enemy was even if the nature of the game constantly changed. He was still fighting on alone even now, trying to live up to the ideal he had constructed – Wufei honestly wasn't sure what he wanted from life anymore. This was probably why he was slowly breaking apart at the seams now, all the insecurities and worries he had locked deep down gradually seeping out of the cracks. He wondered if Duo could see just how broken he was or if Duo was in a similar state and too busy holding himself together to notice.

Wufei heaved another sigh; he'd somehow managed to totally depress himself in the space of time it took Duo to land the shuttle – that had to be some sort of record.

"Well here we are, home sweet home for the next few weeks!" Duo chirped, bounding out of his seat towards the exit, "Let's go explore 'Fei!"

"Coming", he replied moving to follow the other man, knowing that 'explore' probably meant get the place properly secured. Neither would relax until they had personally walked the perimeter and memorised all the escape routes and possible security black spots – occupational hazard he mused.

Stepping out of the shuttle, Wufei took a deep breath and turned his face towards the sun, enjoying the warmth soaking into his skin before moving to follow Duo towards the villa.

* * *

They had been at the villa for a week now and Duo decided it was time to start playing therapist. They had spent most of their time so far getting acquainted with the layout of their current base, adding personal touches to the already excellent security and settling into the rooms they had claimed. They had chosen adjoining rooms without discussion, each knowing that it was to make sure they could quickly rouse the other from their nightmares. Duo was only embellishing the truth when he tricked Wufei into this trip – he did have nightmares, all of them did, but they weren't too out of control. Duo wouldn't flat out lie to Wufei, but he was more than willing to twist the truth to suit himself, especially if it was for Wufei's own good.

The more time Duo spent with the Chinese man, the more worried he got. Wufei was slowly winding down, but that seemed to mean spending the majority of his time trying to sleep or meditating in the shade of a fragrant olive tree in the extensive gardens. He couldn't seem to get more than a couple of hours unbroken sleep at a time –rousing himself before he fell into the nightmare's hold, and Duo was beginning to wish they'd taken Sally up on her offer of tranquilisers. At least a deep medicated sleep would help lighten the dark shadows that still marred Wufei's features.

Duo pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed deeply, just to confound matters, as if in response to the worry, Duo himself had been startled awake few times in a cold sweat to find Wufei hovering over him, stark concern painted on his pinched features. Duo was beginning to think this was a phenomenally stupid idea, there was no way two profoundly damaged, intensely private former Gundam pilots could be suitable therapists for each other. Sally was probably right, leaving the two of them alone for any amount of time was just asking for trouble.

Feeling frustrated and needing to work out some tension, Duo decided to hit the well appointed gym. But when he got there he discovered Wufei had already beaten him to it, and had been there for quite some time judging by the sweat he'd worked up. Duo watched as the other man attacked a punch bag like it had insulted his honour.

"If you hit it any harder you'll split the seams," Duo called out after a minute, watching the play of muscles across Wufei's back as he pulled his latest punch and took a deep breath before reaching for a towel and turning to face him.

"Duo. What do you want?" Wufei asked, barely out of breath despite the vigorous workout.

"Same as you - felt the need to hit some things. Also this godly physique doesn't happen on it's own you know," he grinned back, striking a pose and flexing his arms.

Wufei snorted, throwing his towel aside, "In that case, want to spar? It has been a while since we faced off," he said moving towards the practice mats.

Duo shrugged, "Okay, but you know I'm not trained in any specific martial art right? Don't want you accusing me of cheating when I win," he added with a wink, moving to stand opposite Wufei.

"I'm well aware. Fine, no formal rules, first to incapacitate the other wins the round", the Chinese man said calmly, taking a stance.

"Okay that sounds fun – we stop just short of permanently damaging each other," Duo nodded, limbering up and keeping a careful eye on his opponent.

Wufei waited until Duo was sufficiently warmed up before starting the match. Duo carefully circled Wufei, looking for any sign of an opening – there was none of course. His mind started whirling with ways to create an opportunity to attack, when Wufei suddenly sprung forward towards him causing Duo to curse and dive sideways, trying to twist round and strike at Wufei's blind spot only to be presented with dead air as the Chinese man span out of his way.

They traded a few blows, testing each other out before springing away and circling each other again. Wufei was studying Duo carefully, he nearly shivered from the intensity of that dark gaze, glad this was only a friendly spar. Duo had always admired the speed with which Wufei moved, his tightly controlled movements and the way be propelled himself forward like a bullet made him an extremely dangerous opponent. Duo made up for his lack of formal training with creativity and long experience with real, no holds barred street fighting. It made for an interesting, if protracted fight – neither wanting to give any ground.

Eventually Wufei's exhaustion from his earlier work-out and general lack of sleep caused his movements to start to slow enough for Duo to get under his guard. Duo landed a couple of solid hits to the other man's chest and stomach, making Wufei wince and try to jump back out of the way. But Duo stuck out a leg and entwined it round Wufei's ankle tripping the Chinese man up and causing them both to hit the ground hard. Duo quickly pinned Wufei's legs and arms, grinning down at the flushed pilot panting below him.

"I believe I win Agent Chang", he crooned; not releasing his hold as he could feel Wufei was ready to try and overpower him. Not that the other man had much of a chance of doing so – in the years since the end of the war, Duo had gained height and bulk over the lithe but well muscled figure Wufei retained, something Duo was using to full effect to keep him pinned to the floor.

Wufei suddenly sagged, "Fine. I yield. Now get off me, you weigh a tonne," Wufei ground out, starting to squirm.

Duo beamed and moved to comply, but his sweat slick hand slipped on the padded vinyl flooring and with a heavy "oopfh" ended up collapsed on top of Wufei, lips millimetres away from the other mans. Duo could feel Wufei's breath ghosting over his face, and heat of his flushed skin pressed against his.

"Well this is awkward", Duo managed to rasp out, amused by how Wufei's eyes had widened almost comically.

"Get. _Off._ Me. _Now_. Maxwell." Wufei all but growled, shoving at his chest.

Duo quickly complied, rolling to lie panting to the side, thoroughly exhausted by the match, but somehow he didn't think the flush and hammering of his heart were entirely because of the physical workout. He glanced at Wufei's stiff back as he shifted to sit up, "nice match 'Fei," he ventured, forcing some cheer into the suddenly tense atmosphere.

The tension slowly eased out of the Chinese man and he turned to face Duo, cheeks still stained crimson and he gave a curt nod. Wufei then stood up and gathered his discarded shirt and shoes, "I'm going to go have a shower, then I'll make lunch," he stated before practically running out the room. Duo just stared after him from his position flopped on the floor. "Okay, what was that?" he wondered.


	7. Chapter 7

**Ch 7 **

Images flashed across his eyes – explosions, the dying screams of soldiers as Nataku cut them down, Treize's satisfied smile when Wufei ran him through, Meilan's still figure lying in a flaming field of flowers, gunfire and torrents of blood flowing through his fingers. He couldn't breathe.

"-ake up!"

Broken, dead mobile suits. Broken, dead pilots. Floating adrift in the cold emptiness of space, alone. Always alone, unable to breathe. Why was it so hard to breathe?

"Wufei!"

Imprisoned. But there was someone else there, drawing him out of his isolation. But the air was running out and that cheerful voice was going quiet.

"Please wake up!"

It had gone deathly silent. The air was all but gone. They were suffocating. Duo's still figure lying in a flaming field of flowers – flames licking his pale skin and putting his hair afire. "DUO!"

"Goddamnit 'Fei! I'm here, you have to wake up!"

He knew that voice, he had to reach it before the flames burned him. Before the lack of oxygen stole that voice away from him again!

Wufei jerked awake gasping for the air that had been sorely lacking in his nightmare. He stared around him, unable to figure out where he was for a moment, before he focused on the figure kneeling on the bed beside him, desperately gripping his arm.

"D-duo", he gasped as a flood of relief rushed through him, "You were dead", he stated faintly.

"I'm perfectly healthy as you can see 'Fei. God you scared the shit outta me man! I couldn't wake you and you were struggling to breathe….." Wufei just stared Duo, taking in the indigo eyes wide with alarm, hair loose and mussed from being startled out his sleep, fingers still curled round Wufei's bicep as if to reassure himself Wufei was really okay.

"You were dead and the fire had caught your hair", Wufei said shakily, tears running unchecked down his face. He moved to reach out to touch Duo's hair, "It was all burning, and the air was running out. I couldn't breathe and I was all alone. Always alone…." his voice gave out and he curled into himself, drawing in a shuddering breath.

He had to calm down. Everything was fine. He was fine; there was plenty of air on Earth, no one would suffocate. Duo was fine, nothing was on fire. Oh god he was starting to hyperventilate. Get it together Chang, stop being so fucking weak!

"Wufei? Listen to me, it's okay. There's nothing to be ashamed of, we're all in the same boat. You're not weak because you have nightmares – we'd experienced more horrors before our sixteenth birthdays than most people experience in several lifetimes. You are not weak. You fought. You survived and you brought peace to the whole earth sphere!" Duo's voice was soothing and pleading all at once, Wufei struggled to get his breathing under control to reassure the braided man he was alright.

He felt Duo shuffle closer to him on the bed, surprising Wufei by reaching out to draw him into a hug. "I'm here for you 'Fei, you're not alone anymore," Duo whispered into his ear, and Wufei felt his fragile self-control shatter. He pulled Duo closer and allowed himself to cry openly for the first time in years.

Wufei didn't know how long they sat like that in the dark, all he knew was that this was all at once the most shameful and most cathartic moment in his life to date, and he had never been more glad that it was Duo that had broke into his office a week earlier. With that thought in mind, his exhausted body sunk once more into slumber.

* * *

Duo blinked up at the unfamiliar ceiling blearily wondering where he was and what had wakened him up this time. It was also way too warm, although a quick look around him revealed why. A spill of inky hair lay across his chest, attached to one Wufei Chang who was curled around him like he thought Duo was his own personal hug pillow. Duo would have never pegged Wufei as the clingy sort, figuring he would be more of 'this is my side of the bed, do not enter' kind of man. Duo studied the other pilot's face in the soft dawn light. Wufei's eyes were puffy and red, tear tracks apparent on his cheeks from the torrent of emotions that flowed out of the Chinese man last night. But a slight, contented smile curved on his lips and the ever present frown had faded from his brows, making Wufei look his age for once.

Duo frowned when he thought back on the previous night; Wufei's traumatised shouts, violent tossing and gasping for breath had scared him half to death. The aftermath of having a vulnerable, sobbing Wufei clinging to him for dear life was almost as frightening as it was completely at odds with how Wufei normally acted. Duo honestly didn't know how to reconcile this new fragile side Wufei was displaying with the image of the strong, proud warrior Duo always pictured Wufei being. Duo mused that he was probably the only person to ever see Wufei Chang with his walls down. The only person to ever see those onyx eyes swimming with hurt and tears, desperate for reassurance that he wasn't weak or alone, that it was okay to cry and reach out for comfort from friends.

Duo was feeling somewhat angry with himself for not noticing how lonely Wufei was before, although since the proud man went out of his way to project an independent air, and was notoriously difficult to get close to, he couldn't blame himself too much. But Duo had seen through the carefully crafted walls last night, and he would be damned if he let Wufei push him outside them again. He'd be there for Wufei, whether the Chinese man liked it or not.

And there was the fact Wufei had actually called out for Duo, and had seemed particularly traumatised at thought of his dying. Duo wasn't too sure what to do with that information, it wasn't like he and Wufei spent much time together or had anything much in common. Wufei seemed to have much more interest in Heero, at least on a professional level, although he also respected Heero's mental fortitude and clear idea on what path led to a peaceful future. Yes out of the four of them, Heero definitely got on best with Wufei. Quatre's warm, open personality just appeared to annoy the prickly pilot, and he never seemed to fully trust Trowa for some reason. Duo himself just got the impression that Wufei tolerated him most of the time, not really having any common ground apart from their shared experience on the Lunar Base. So why then did 'Fei appear so shaken at the thought of his death?

Duo was drawn out of his thoughts by Wufei starting to stir to wakefulness, and trying to ignore the ticklish feeling of Wufei's eyelashes bushing against his chest. Duo watched and listened carefully, sure he could almost hear Wufei's panicked internal monologue judging from the sharp intake of breath he took upon reaching full awareness and the way he pulled away from Duo as if burned, eyes wide in alarm.

Duo decided to spare the poor man further trauma, "Mornin' 'Fei" he yawned widely, stretching and moving to sit back against the headboard and turning a lazy grin on the other man, "Rough night, huh?"

Wufei seemed to be fighting down a panic attack, it was interesting to see his normally haughty features twisted into a visage of shock and shame, but it wasn't an expression Duo felt belonged on the other man's face.

"Take a deep breath 'Fei. There's nothing to apologise for or work yourself up over," he attempted to soothe, not moving since it looked like Wufei was about to bolt.

Wufei gripped the blankets hard enough to tear, closed his eyes and took several deep, calming breaths. The coiled tension gradually leaving his frame until he finally opened his eyes again and stared back at Duo.

"Duo. I have to apologise. I…..well. I don't know what happened to me last night…..but I think I should leave. This isn't working; I can't help you when I'm…..when I'm so… When I'm so _broken_ myself," he rasped out, voice rough from last night's anguished sobbing. "Call Winner or Hilde, hell even Yuy may be of more use to you than me right now. I can't…..no, I _won't_ subject you to my problems any more. It isn't fair on you Duo….it's not fair on either of us…." he trailed off, eyes shadowed and dull, proud shoulders slumped in defeat.

Duo hated seeing Wufei like this – it was not natural, it didn't suit the Chinese man at all. Wufei should be abrasive and dismissive. He should have been brushing Duo off in the most scathing manner possible, not _apologising_ to him and admitting to be having flaws…..to being broken. Duo had winced when he heard that confession slip from Wufei's lips – Wufei should _not_ be admitting to being broken! If he, the ever steady, self assured one of the five of them was broken, where did that leave the others? Where did that leave Duo himself?

"Shut up Wufei," he ground out, suddenly angry, "Just…shut up for a second and listen to me, alright?"

Wufei opened his mouth to retort, but Duo just held up a hand and fixed him with a glare. Wufei closed his mouth and nodded.

"First off, you have absolutely nothing to apologise for – I've already told you that a few times. Secondly, you're being an idiot if you think I'm going to let you leave after all this – Une and Sally would have me castrated. Wufei to be honest, this trip was more for your benefit than mine – everyone at the Preventers was worried sick about you! Une asked me to get you away from work for a while, and I agreed because I needed to get away for a bit too", Duo held up a hand again since it looked like Wufei was going to protest, "I'm not done yet", he said.

"I will admit that I'm pretty damn clueless about how to fix any of this mess. It's not like I'm a bloody therapist, but since I know_ exactly _what you're going through, just with a few personal traumas fired in, I believe we can help each other through this. But you _need to talk to me_ Wufei, I'm not Quatre and I can't guess what's going on in your heart or head. I have a decent idea, just going on what I'm feeling myself, but I won't _know_ _anything_ unless you tell me. I know talking about feelings and all that mushy crap is pretty counter-intuitive for you…..hell it is for me too, but we're not getting anywhere with how things stand. Time for a new approach, okay?" he asked, fixing Wufei with his best imploring gaze.

Wufei just looked back at him, a pondering expression on his face. There were so many things flittering across those dark eyes, but the hopelessness that Duo saw lingering there meant he found himself reaching out to pull Wufei into another hug, "Please just try 'Fei, I know I'm not exactly the most reliable guy out there, but at least know I'm honestly worried about you and want to help", he said willing Wufei to listen.

He felt the Chinese man nod slightly, still stiff in his arms, "Okay Duo. We'll try again. But I can't make you any promises," he forced out.

Duo released him and smiled, "Well, that's a start I suppose".


	8. Chapter 8

**Ch 8**

It had been a few days since he had completely made a fool of himself in front of Duo and Wufei hadn't had a bad nightmare since. However last night he had rushed into Duo's room in a blind panic, upon hearing the braided man give a particularly anguished sounding shriek. Once he managed to wake Duo the other man had just laid bonelessly on the bed, staring unseeingly at the ceiling with tears running down his cheeks, which disturbed Wufei nearly as much as Duo's screams had.

He had eventually managed to get the other man to respond, Duo just smiled sadly at him and murmured, "Just reliving the end of my childhood 'Fei. It went up in blood and smoke – fitting for the birth of the god of death really".

Wufei didn't know how to reply, so he didn't say anything and just grasped Duo's shoulder and sat with him until he went back to sleep. Remembering the grateful smile Duo gave him just confused Wufei – there was absolutely nothing he could do for Duo, he couldn't even look after his own mental health, so why did Duo seem grateful that Wufei was there?

Duo confused Wufei at the best of times, he never had been able to understand how the Deathscythe pilot could smile and chatter even while leaving death and chaos in his wake. Duo kept a lightness around him that seemed completely at odds with the moniker he went by or the ruthless efficiency with which he fought. A charismatic man who made friends easily and laughed often, what kind of death god was that? Yet there was that side of Duo that Wufei had sometimes glimpsed – the cold calculating assassin who slipped through enemy lines like a ghost, leaving only charred ruins behind him. That Duo never stayed long, retreating behind shuttered indigo eyes to let the irreverent, fun-loving idiot everyone liked keep the spotlight. Yes Duo had always confused Wufei, more than any of the others, but even more so now that he had been more spending time with the braided man.

He just couldn't figure out why Duo was still here. This was the least relaxing holiday ever since Duo was constantly startled out of his sleep and basically having to deal with Wufei being an anti-social basketcase on a daily basis. Who on earth would want to stick around and deal with that kind of crap? Yet Duo stayed, and made Wufei stay too. Wufei grasped at his chest, heart giving a twist when he recalled Duo's wide eyes, inches from his own, imploring Wufei to just trust him, to just try. And Wufei wanted to, wanted to rely on the strength Duo was offering him, but just couldn't. Couldn't lean on Duo when the other pilot was clearly suffering too, because Wufei didn't think he could offer the same sort of support – didn't think he'd be able to shoulder Duo's hurt in addition to his own. And he burned with shame at that thought, anger lancing through him at how selfish he was being. Duo deserved better, deserved someone stronger. Wufei didn't deserve to have those concerned indigo eyes, soothing voice and steady hands. He wasn't worthy of them, just like he had never been worthy of leading his clan or piloting Nataku. Wufei was weak and cowardly – always had been, always would be. Everyone should have just left him to rot in his office.

He sighed heavily, leaning back against the olive tree he was sitting beneath, grazing up through the leaves to the clear blue skies above. It was so beautiful and peaceful here, why couldn't he just relax and enjoy it? Why was he plagued with memories of the past and worries about the future? Why was the vision of Duo lying still and burning in a field of flowers imprinted into his mind, making him feel sick? He knocked his head back against the tree trunk, willing the horrifying picture out of his head – Duo was not in danger of dying any time soon.

"You're going to give yourself a headache", a voice noted with amusement somewhere off to his right.

Wufei cracked an eye open and glanced over at Duo, somehow unsurprised that the other man had managed to sneak up on him, "Trying to kill a few of my over imaginative brain-cells," he replied.

Duo slid down to sit beside him, shoulder to shoulder, long legs stretched out in front of him, "I get that" he agreed.

Wufei let out a breath and dropped his head to rest on his knees, "Why are you still here?" he asked the man beside him.

Duo arched an eyebrow, "Was I meant to be somewhere else?" he enquired.

Wufei frowned, "You know what I meant."

It was Duo's turn to sigh and lean back against the tree trunk, "Yeah I do. Already told ya 'Fei, I'm not going anywhere until we're both capable of functioning normally without freaking out everyone around us. No idea how to actually do that, but hey, I usually figure something out!" he said a small grin lighting his features.

Wufei hummed non-committally, continuing watch Duo, who had started fussing with the end of his braid again.

"You always do that when it's quiet you know", Wufei blurted out.

Duo started, "Do what?"

"Play with your hair. You unravel and rebraid the end over and over until someone starts talking again", Wufei said moving to pull the chestnut strands out of the other mans hands and snorting, "Look at all these split ends!"

Duo flushed and grabbed his hair back defensively, "I just haven't had time to trim it lately! Hilde usually does it, but she ran off to see her friends when I started getting restless," he whined.

Wufei felt a smile tugging at his lips at the display and he moved to stand up, offering a hand to Duo.

"Come on, let's go back inside. I may not be of much help to you, but I can at least trim hair – I haven't destroyed my own yet," Wufei offered.

"Thanks man!" A grin lit up Duo's face as he grasped Wufei's hand, causing Wufei's heart to give an odd lurch, face warming with another blush.

"No problem," he forced out, turning on his heel to match back to the house quickly, keen to get away from the brightness of Duo's smile. God what the hell was wrong with him!?

* * *

Duo fidgeted on his perch on the breakfast bar, earning another tug on his hair from a disgruntled Wufei who was kneeling on the floor behind him.

"Would you _sit still_ for two minutes!? I'm almost done. Unless you _want_ this to be uneven", the Chinese man asked archedly, gesturing to Duo's unbound curtain of hair with a pair of scissors.

"Sorry," he replied, trying not to squirm when he heard the 'snip-snip' noise of the scissors as Wufei resumed his work. He actually hated having his hair cut, but was so pleased that Wufei had even offered that he agreed without thinking. And if he was being honest, he had really enjoyed the almost reverential way Wufei had brushed out the wet strands and marvelled at the excellent condition Duo kept his hair in. But then the scissors came out and Duo wanted to be anywhere but at the sharp end of them.

He curled a white-knuckled grip onto the edge of the counter. Wufei knew what he was doing, he tried to reassure himself. The Chinese man's own hair was always in fantastic condition after all, shining like liquid silk in the light. Duo recalled that it had felt like silk against his skin too. He shook that thought from his mind, earning yet another disapproving huff and tug on his hair from the dark-haired man.

Duo forced himself to sit still, and sure enough Wufei finished up in a couple more minutes.

"There. All finished," he stated moving to stand and placing the scissors down.

Duo jumped down off the counter and spun to grin at the Chinese man, "Thanks 'Fei!" he chirped, running a hand through the unbound tresses to separate them out to braid.

"I'll do it," Wufei offered quietly, surprising Duo once again.

"Uh, sure," he agreed, suddenly fixing Wufei with a knowing smile, "Do you have a hair fetish Wuffers!?" he crowed.

Wufei went an interesting shade of pink before whacking Duo over the head with the hair-brush, "Don't be absurd", he muttered frowning.

Duo just raised an eyebrow, rubbing the lump on his head and turning around to let Wufei finish braiding his hair for him, "I wouldn't have minded," he said quietly.

Wufei just made a noise in the back of this throat and moved to slide his thin fingers into Duo's hair, quickly braiding the strands into a thick rope, before moving back.

Duo turned back to face him again, taking note of the complicated look Wufei was giving him, "I just wanted to….I just needed to reassure myself that you're still here," he sighed out, sliding a hand up over his eyes and shrugging. "That last nightmare. The final image is burned into my eyelids", Wufei ground out, dropping his hand and looking Duo in the eye, "A vision of you dead, with your hair catching fire", he said.

Duo's eyes widened and he just stared back in stunned silence. He coughed to clear the tight feeling in his throat, "Was it that bad 'Fei, the thought of me being dead? More so than all the real horrors you've seen?" he asked softly, wanting to figure out just what the emotion currently flickering in the depths of Wufei's eyes was.

Wufei shook his head, breaking eye contact "It was just so vivid that's all. Sometimes I just want to reassure myself that I haven't gone crazy. That I'm not alone again," he ended in a whisper.

Duo stepped forward and caught Wufei up in another hug without even thinking about it, but this time Wufei tentatively returned the embrace. Something fluttered in Duo's chest as Wufei's breath ghosted over the shell of his ear, "Than you Duo", he breathed out, and Duo thought his heart was going to thunder out of his chest.

"Any time 'Fei," he replied before moving back to get a look at the other's face. But Wufei had quickly pulled up a composed mask, the soft smile Duo had just caught a glimpse of, quickly hidden away. Duo felt a rush of disappointment for some unknown reason.

Wufei cleared his throat, "Well we'd better clean up all this hair before I start getting dinner sorted", he stated in a strangely strangled voice, stepping away to get the broom out.

Duo just nodded dumbly after him. Things were getting increasingly strange, but somehow he didn't think this was an entirely bad development.


	9. Chapter 9

**Ch 9**

It was well after midnight, but Wufei's head had been buzzing too much to make an attempt at sleeping. So here he was, sitting on the veranda halfway through a bottle of (probably very expensive) wine that he had taken from Quatre's wine cellar. Wufei knew he would regret it in the morning, but right now the alcohol flowing in his blood stream was making the world seem like a much softer place. He leaned back to stare at the sky, suddenly hit by a wave of nostalgia for the freedom of flying though that sparkling darkness with a clear mission in mind.

The peace he had fought so hard for had all but robbed Wufei's life of any meaningful purpose. He had no family, no close friends, his home colony was gone – all Wufei really had now was a handful of former comrades with whom he had a shared past, and a job that afforded him some sort of purpose in life. Working for the Preventers was an obvious decision for him really; it allowed him to continue to fight in this world were warriors where surplus to requirements. The other Gundam pilots had readily shed their past lives as soldiers, fully ready to embrace peace, but Wufei had found it exceptionally difficult to let go – frightened that if the fight was taken from him everyone would see how truly hollow he was inside.

Wufei sighed heavily; he need not have worried so much, no one really paid enough attention to really see him. The people around him seemed satisfied with the condescending, abrasive façade he held around him protectively. False strength and self-assurance was easy to project when no one was close enough to him to know any different. Wufei took more solo missions than any other Agent, partners never lasted more than a handful of missions. The only one who ever really made an attempt to get to know him was Sally, but he held her at arm's length too because Sally was too sharp, saw glimpses of things he tried to desperately hide and tried to mother him as a result. Wufei couldn't bear to be seen as someone to be mothered by a work colleague.

He drained his glass and reached to refill it, only to find his fingers closing on empty air. Wufei frowned, searching round blindly. His grasping figures closed on something warm and he looked around blearily in confusion to find he had grabbed Duo's ankle. Tilting his head up to find Duo's face, Wufei blinked a few time to try and focus, quirking his head sideways in a quizzical manner.

"Duo? Wha are you doin' up?" he slurred, feeling somewhat ashamed that Duo had found him drinking alone in the middle of the night.

Duo just stared back, eyes measuring before flickering back to regard the mostly empty wine bottle in his hand.

"Did you drink all of this Wufei?" he asked voice flat.

Wufei flushed angrily, he could drink if he wanted, wasn't like he was underage anymore! He moved to stand, not liking how Duo was towering over him, but quickly discovered that was a phenomenally bad idea as the world decided to spin around him. He would have to complain to Winner about how slanted his veranda was, he noted dimly, fascinated by how the ground was rushing up to meet his face.

"Wooah there! Careful 'Fei", he heard Duo exclaim just before his face pressed into something decidedly warm and firm but definitely not the floor.

Wufei waited a few moments until his equilibrium returned a touch before looking to see what he was leaning against. He flushed darkly, of course it was Maxwell's chest – Duo was several inches taller than him these days, he struggled to remove himself from the loose hold Duo held him in.

"I can stand on my own!" he muttered, smacking away Duo's hands as they hovered near his elbows.

"Yeah you're doing a wonderful job of convincing me of that there 'Fei – you're swaying all over place!" Duo retorted, voice laced with sarcasm. "Come on; let's get you to bed eh? That's enough wine for one night."

He moved to steer Wufei back into the villa, but Wufei had suddenly had enough. Who was Duo to decide Wufei had had enough? If he wanted to drink himself into oblivion he should be allowed to do so! Wufei made a blind grab for the wine bottle again, but Duo just held it above his head out of Wufei's reach.

"Wufei! Seriously, you've had more than enough," Duo repeated, other hand moving to hold Wufei steady, a deep frown on his face.

Wufei focused on Duo's face, distracted from getting his wine back by that out of place frown. He reached out a hand to trace the furrowed brow, fascinated by how it soothed out into a surprised expression under his fingers. Wufei giggled, Duo always had the most interesting expressions – he'd seen a whole myriad of emotions play across the braided man's features over the years. But he hadn't seen this look on Duo's face before, and certainly not his close. Why was he so close anyway? Wufei sighed with contentment, that didn't matter really. He trailed a finger down Duo's flushed face to his parted lips completely taken with the way Duo's tongue darted out briefly to whet them. He leaned in closer, eyes flickering up to catch those wonderfully bright indigo orbs wondering why Duo's breath had hitched and his grip on Wufei's waist tightened and why Wufei's own blood seemed to be pulsing in his ears.

"Duo," Wufei murmured, lips grazing across Duo's, hand cupped against his cheek, eyes locked on the other man's, "I'm going to be sick", he stated going limp in Duo's arms.

Duo's eyes had widened to the size of saucers, but suddenly an alarmed light came into them, "Oh fuck! Wufei, hey come on man, get it together!" he fussed, practically carrying Wufei into the bathroom and propping him up by the toilet.

Wufei just looked around him feeling completely dazed and very ill. He had the feeling that he'd just ruined an important moment, but his alcohol sodden brain couldn't really focus enough to examine that feeling. Duo came back into his eye line and pressed a glass of water into his hands.

"Here. Drink up 'Fei or you're going to have a fucker of a hangover tomorrow," he said perching himself on the edge of the bath tub and rubbing a hand through his hair.

Wufei nodded and gulped the water down, relieved that it quelled the queasiness a bit. He peeked at Duo over the rim of the glass, wondering why the other man looked so frustrated.

"Duo?" he ventured.

"Yeah 'Fei?"

"Sorry," he said in a small voice, eyes downcast.

"Don't worry about it. We'll talk in the morning. Are you still feeling sick? Want to sleep?" Duo replied with a sigh.

"I'm okay now. I'll go to bed and sleep the rest off", Wufei returned, trying to stand up.

Duo just rolled his eyes, "Stay still," he ordered, moving to pick Wufei up.

Wufei just squawked indignantly at being carried bridal style to his bedroom, "put me down at once Maxwell!"

"Yeah, yeah. Just calm your drunken ass down Princess" Duo groused back, mouth quirked in amusement as Wufei continued to bluster at him.

Duo dropped him onto the centre of the bed and quickly left the room, only to return moments later with another glass of water and an empty bowl. He handed the water to Wufei and left the bowl by the side of the bed.

"You'll probably need that at some stage," Duo said, voice still laced with humour.

"Thanks," Wufei ground out, dangerously close to pouting.

"Well I'll be next door if you need me. G'night 'Fei, try to get some sleep", Duo said moving out of the room.

"Duo!" Wufei called out after him.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you. I mean it", Wufei said quietly.

"You're welcome", Duo replied closing the door behind him.

Wufei sat back against the pillows and buried his face in his hands, really, what the hell was wrong with him lately!?

* * *

Duo threw himself onto his bed and resisted the urge to scream into his pillow. He'd been moments away from throwing caution to the wind and just kissing Wufei. The Chinese man had been all kinds of tempting in his drunken state – all tousled hair, flushed cheeks and lidded eyes. And the way he had fit into Duo's arms was way too perfect! Duo whacked his head off the headboard, he should not have been thinking of Wufei that way. Not when the other man was so clearly struggling to cope. Duo had no idea Wufei even drank, so when he stumbled upon the other pilot staring off into space with a wistful expression on his face and an empty bottle of wine by his side, Duo had felt a bit put out.

More pressing at the moment though was what to do about the strange attraction that had been building up between the two of them over the last few weeks. Originally Duo had just thought it was him being frustrated from not getting laid in the last couple weeks, but now he wasn't so sure. He's always admired Wufei, but never really felt attracted to him before, but with the realisation that there was a softer, more vulnerable side to Wufei, Duo had gotten more and more interested in the Chinese man. And it seemed the fascination was mutual judging by Wufei's actions tonight.

Duo groaned, burying his face in the pillows, he needed a cold shower. Tomorrow was going to be _interesting._


	10. Chapter 10

**Ch 10**

It had been a couple of days since the drunken Wufei incident and surprisingly things weren't really all that awkward between the two. The following morning an exceptionally hungover and green looking Wufei had apologised profusely to an amused Duo, and proceeded to swear off alcohol for the considerable future. It seemed that they had both silently agreed to ignore the near kiss, but the strangely electric atmosphere between them remained – it was starting to make Duo antsy.

Wufei seemed much more at ease, he had been getting much more sleep, having only one instance of nightmares. Similarly Duo hadn't had any further incidents and the pair spent their days relaxing by the pool, reading, playing games or sparring in the gym. Wufei seemed to have rekindled his love of books in Quatre's library, and the sight of him curled up in a chair with his reading glassed perched on his nose was a source of endless interest to Duo. But Duo had caught Wufei staring at him occasionally, a strange light in his eyes that disappeared as soon as he realised he'd been caught. It was driving Duo insane with curiousity.

That evening two of them were sitting on the veranda, glass of wine to hand and enjoying the warm breeze and the distant scent of salt air from the sea. Duo was watching Wufei out of the corner of his eye, happy to see the other man looking relaxed, a content smile on his lips, hair loose and floating in the breeze with his feet propped up on the railing, glass of wine grasped loosely in his hand. A completely different Wufei Chang to the tired, world weary agent Duo had dragged out of Preventer HQ a scant few weeks earlier. A completely different Wufei Chang to the man Duo thought he knew, a man he wanted to know _more_ about.

Wufei put down his glass and stretched with catlike grace, humming with contentment, "Think I'll turn in early and read a bit more of my book", he said moving back into the house.

Duo nodded distractedly, watching him leave a vague feeling of disappointment settling in his stomach. Did Wufei actually completely forget about what had transpired between them on this veranda a few day's previous? Would be have to get the other man drunk again to catch another glimpse of that alluring expression? Duo frowned, frustrated and unsure what to do about it. He refilled his glass, relishing the warmth of the alcohol flowing in his system, watching the sky gradually turn a beautiful shade of deep violet.

He got up and made his way through the villa to Wufei's room. They needed to talk.

* * *

Wufei was startled by the door to his room opening, he'd been so absorbed in his novel that he hadn't heard Duo approaching.

"Everything okay Duo?" he asked, taking in the flushed face and slightly glazed eyes Duo was sporting.

"Hn, we need to talk 'Fei", Duo muttered, moving to crawl onto the bed beside him.

Wufei marked his page and put his book aside along with his glasses, "What's wrong?" he queried, turning his full attention to his slightly intoxicated friend.

Duo appeared to be struggling to find the correct words, so Wufei just waited patiently, watching Duo's face and the way he had scrunched up his nose in concentration – it was kind of adorable. Wufei shook his head, he hadn't just thought Duo Maxwell was adorable – clearly he'd had too much wine again.

"What are we going to do about this…..this '_thing'_ that's going on between us 'Fei?" Duo suddenly blurted out, gesturing randomly to the space that separated the two of them, a frown fixed on his face. "I don't think I can ignore it anymore."

Wufei quirked a brow at him, "What thing? You're going to have to be a bit more articulate than that Maxwell", he shot back airily.

Duo's frown just deepened, and he shifted closer to Wufei, indigo eyes dark and intense. Wufei's mouth went dry and he swallowed reflexively, whetting his lips nervously and trying to shift back a bit; not missing how Duo's eyes were now staring at his mouth.

"This thing. The way my heart is about to jump out of my chest. How my skin feels like I'm standing next to an electric fence. The fact I can't stop myself from wanting to get closer to you 'Fei," Duo had inched closer while Wufei was distracted by the gravelly tones he spoke in, stomach doing flip-flops.

"D-duo…..are you drunk?" Wufei forced out, trying to keep his head when all he wanted to do was pull Duo closer.

"Not enough to be an excuse", Duo purred back, now inches away from Wufei's flushed face.

"Oh", Wufei all but squeaked, tense with anticipation.

He knew exactly what 'thing' Duo was referring to. The atmosphere between the two of them had been electrically charged for days, heavy with expectation like the air before a storm. Wufei had been trying hard to ignore it, to pass it off as a strange side effect of his gratitude towards Duo's solid support during a very stressful time in his life. But if Duo felt it too….well maybe something could happen? If they both wanted it what harm could it do?

Duo had paused, eyes searching Wufei's face, looking for something. Wufei caught his gaze, letting a tiny smile touch his lips, before his eyes fluttered shut and he moved to close the distance between them. Duo let out a tiny noise of surprise, before taking control of the kiss, pressing him down onto the pillows and teasing Wufei's mouth open to entwine their tongues in a slow, languid kiss. Wufei couldn't stop the whimper of approval he made when Duo nipped at his lower lip with his teeth, making the kiss more aggressive and passionate. Wufei broke away to gasp for air, fingers twisted into Duo's hair and shirt, holding the man to him as Duo moved to suck and bite at the curve of Wufei's neck.

He heard Duo's hum of satisfaction as Wufei arched up against him, sighing his name, strong arms wrapping around him and keeping him firmly pinned to the bed. Wufei twisted to capture Duo's mouth again, taking control himself after a brief battle for dominance. He enjoyed the way Duo tasted – like the rich wine he was drinking earlier mingled with something sweeter. Wufei urged Duo to let him sit up, pushing the braided pilot up against the headboard and crawling to straddle his thighs.

Duo grinned at him, "You have no idea just how fuckable you look right now 'Fei" he stated, hands working to rid Wufei of his shirt.

Wufei flushed, tossing his shirt over into the corner along with Duo's which he had managed relieve the other man of, "Pretty sure I do", he said, tracing a hand over the tracery of fine white scars marring Duo's tanned torso. He ran a rough thumb over a peaked nipple, pleased when Duo let out a gasp of surprise and shivered in pleasure, running his own rough hands up Wufei's strong back. Wufei bent to capture the other nipple in his mouth, rewarded with a throaty groan of encouragement and the return of Duo's hot mouth to his throat and shoulders, his hands continuing their exploration of all the exposed skin they could find.

Wufei traced his tongue along the raised scars criss-crossing Duo's chest, gradually working his way down past Duo's navel. He paused, looking up through his eyelashes to find Duo's face, his eyes glazed with lust, kiss swollen lips parted.

"Wufei", he breathed out, smoothing inky stands of hair back from Wufei's face.

He just smirked back, turning his attention back to working Duo's shorts down off his hips, enjoying the tiny whimper of need the other man let slip when his hard, hot member was finally exposed to the cooler air. Wufei felt his own cock twitch in response, even the loose pyjama bottoms he was wearing feeling restrictive and he squirmed, trying to balance himself to get them off.

Duo surprised him by grabbing his arms and dragging him up into another kiss, hungry with need, impatient hands helping rid Wufei of the unwanted clothing.

"There. Much better" Duo drawled against his mouth, wandering hands now exploring the newly exposed skin, causing Wufei to buck his hips seeking some much needed friction.

He found himself on his back again before he knew what was happening; Duo's hot questing mouth already moving down his body, feather light touches everywhere but where he really wanted, leaving Wufei fidgeting impatiently.

"D-duo! Please," he panted, drinking in the intoxicating sight of the chestnut head poised between his legs, plump lips curved in a knowing smile. So when he finally dropped his head down to capture Wufei's straining cock in his mouth, it was all the Chinese man could do to remember to breathe, fingers clawing at the sheets ineffectually as he focused on the delicious sensations Duo's talented tongue was creating.

Wufei had always suspected Duo had an oral fixation from the way the man ate, but having that mouth wrapped around the most sensitive part of his body, humming in response to Wufei's shuddering moans, just reinforced that thought. Duo was sinfully good with his tongue; Wufei wasn't going to last long at this rate.

"Stop! Duo, stop! I'm about to…..oh fuck stop Duo!" he cried out, fingers tangling into Duo's hair, torn between pulling him off or holding him closer. And then Wufei's vision went white, hips jerking reflexively as Duo held him still and swallowed around him. Wufei thought he was going to pass out from the assault on his senses. When he came back to himself it was to find Duo regarding him like a predatory cat, lidded eyes intent on his face, watching as Wufei came down from his orgasm. The naked lust in Duo's expression shot through Wufei like an electric shock and he reached out for the braided man drawing him into another slow kiss, while he reached down to stroke Duo's neglected cock.

Duo bucked, hissing into Wufei's mouth, "Oh fuck, Fei! Need more than that!"

Wufei nodded, breaking away momentarily to search through his bedside cabinet for something to use as lubricant. His fingers closed on a small bottle of lotion, which would have to do – neither could really wait to find something more suitable. He pressed the bottle into Duo's hands, who just looked at him in surprise.

"Are you sure Wufei? We don't need to go that far tonight-", he started looking a touch worried.

Wufei just rocked up against him, extracting another needy groan, "Shut up and get to work Maxwell", he growled, mouthing at Duo's neck.

Duo didn't need to be told twice, quickly slicking up his fingers and starting to work at Wufei's entrance. He bit his lip, tensing at the foreign feeling, but soon relaxed as Duo distracted him with his clever mouth. Soon Wufei was all but mewling under Duo's dedicated ministrations, desperately clutching at the other man's shoulders. Duo retracted his fingers, eliciting a disappointed growl from Wufei, until the feeling of pressure returned when Duo lined himself up with Wufei's entrance.

"You okay 'Fei," he rasped out, one arm curled round Wufei raising his hips and supporting his back.

"Yes!" Wufei hissed out, bucking his hips to hurry Duo along. He snarled at the sudden stab of pain as Duo slowly pushed into him, struggling to relax under the feeling of being stretched.

"Oh fuck you're so tight 'Fei" Duo gasped out against his neck.

Wufei's voice had all but deserted him, leaving only a high keening noise as his eyes pricked with tears and he desperately tried to get a grip on the sensations rocking his body. Duo kept moving until he was sheathed in Wufei to the hilt and then he stopped, sweat slicked body trembling as he fought the urge to just drive into the tight warmth surrounding him. Wufei knew it was taking a tremendous amount of self control to wait for Duo to wait for him to adjust, the rush of affection he felt for the other pilot giving him the added push required to fully relax.

Once Duo felt that he was comfortable, he slowly began to rock against him, building up speed until Wufei was begging for him to go harder and faster – to end the delicious torture. Duo pushed him over the edge when he reached between them and gave a few firm strokes to his aching cock while biting down on the juncture of his neck. The mingled sensation of pleasure and pain undoing him completely. Duo followed soon after, Wufei's convulsive clamping round him being too much to fight against.

They collapsed in a boneless, sticky heap on top of the blankets, panting heavily and utterly sated. Wufei recovered his senses first, shifting to grab a discarded shirt and wipe the worst of the sticky reside and sweat from their bodies, before drawing the blanket over them and curling around Duo's dazed form.

"Wufei?" he said softly.

"Hmmm?" he returned sleepily.

"I think I love you", Duo stated, sounding stunned.

Wufei shifted to stare at the other man quietly, unsure how to reply to that sudden confession. Duo just looked back at him, indigo eyes sated and questioning. Wufei slowly smiled at him, smoothing stray locks of hair back from his sweat soaked brow.

"I think I just might love you too", he replied, somewhat surprised, "I suppose we'll just have to find out if that's the case together" he finished, dropping his head to capture Duo's lips again. They broke apart, smiling stupidly at each other before surrendering to their exhaustion and falling asleep, utterly content in one another's arms.


	11. Epilogue

**Epilogue – 3 months later**

Duo strolled through Preventer HQ causally waving to those who greeted him. Front desk had told him Wufei was somewhere on the sixth floor, so Duo was wandering about looking for the Chinese man so he could drag him off for lunch. Eventually he found Wufei surrounded by a group of older Agents, who were all looking a bit chastised. Wufei in full Agent I-have-a-massive-pole-up-my-ass mode was glaring at them imperiously as he waved a sheath of papers around in agitation. Duo forced down a laugh, amused by how Wufei was successfully intimidating this group of older, larger men without much effort – some things never changed.

Duo decided to rescue the men when Wufei's expression turned stormy, clearly gearing up for a full rant in response to something one of them muttered.

He swept into Wufei's eye line, broad grin on his face, "Hey 'Fei! I'm starved, come grab some lunch with me," he called out, closing the distance to throw an arm round Wufei's shoulders and beam at the Agents surrounding them.

"Duo. I'm a bit busy here," Wufei bit back, shrugging off his arm.

Duo just rocked back on his heels, grin firmly fixed in place, "I'm sure these fine agents wouldn't mind my stealing you away for a bit. Isn't that right gentlemen?" he chirped, amused as the other agents turned thankful looks his way, nodding consent enthusiastically.

Wufei sighed, "I'm not done with you lot yet. Expect a long meeting about this shambolic mission in the near future", he warned, eyes sharp and promising pain.

The men blanched and hung their heads, "Yes Sir" they saluted before scampering off.

Duo let out the chuckle he had been suppressing, "You always have had a way with people 'Fei, would it kill you to be a bit more sociable?"

Wufei scoffed, nose in the air, "I have no need for making friends with my Agents, I just need them to be competent, although apparently that is too much to ask".

"Fair enough", Duo laughed, slinging an arm back round the Chinese man and steering him towards the elevator, "Come on, I seriously am famished".

"Fine, just let me swing by my office to drop off this poor excuse for a report", Wufei replied, glaring at the sheaf of papers like it had personally insulted him. Duo was pleased that he didn't shake off his arm this time, leaning into his side slightly and letting some of the tension coiled in his frame dissipate.

It had been such a challenge to get Wufei to consent to small displays of affection like this. He was still intensely private and independent, but Duo liked that about the other man – he was pretty headstrong and independent himself. Their relationship was still in its infancy – the time spent at Quatre's villa had like being in an alternate universe where it was just the two of them, the real challenge came when they left to go back to their ordinary lives.

Wufei had tried to get as many missions as possible that would take him to L2 to visit Duo, but their meetings had been sparse over the past two months as Wufei was needed elsewhere. Duo missed the Chinese man intensely and so he had been secretly working to relocate to Earth to be closer to Wufei and Preventers HQ. He was here today to make the final arrangements and wanted to surprise Wufei with the news over lunch.

Wufei handed off the offensive report to his secretary, informing the man that he was taking the rest of the day off. Duo was surprised, Wufei actually skipping out on work without having to be needled into it? He really was mellowing. Duo smiled softly at the other man, who just caught his eye and winked, making Duo's heart miss a beat. Wufei somehow managed to surprise him like this on a regular basis – glimpsing interesting new facets to the stern Chinese man's personality.

Lunch was a quiet affair, but Wufei's eyes had glittered with excitement when Duo told him he was moving to Earth, fine boned fingers reaching out to grasp his hand on the table. Wufei had then all but dragged Duo back to his apartment, making it clear just how pleased he was to see him. When the two of them were alone, that alluring, playful side of Wufei came out – the side that Duo couldn't really get enough of. And to think he had been reluctant to accept Une's mission to get "Agent Workaholic to Relax"! Duo grinned against Wufei's mouth, happily following the other man to the bedroom, in hindsight that had been the best mission ever. He kicked the door closed behind them – shutting out the rest of the world. The Wufei in this room belonged only to him.

* * *

_Urgh, this was kind of a strange experience. I originally wanted to write a short fluffy one-shot just to get it off my chest, but the characters were just too broken to pay attention to each other! Wufei is all kinds of irritating to write since we don't get much real insight into him in the show - basically he's there in the background being an insufferable arsehole for the majority of the time. I still like his grumpy ass though - I'm a bit strange._

_Anyway, apologies for the crappy characterisation, I'm not really a writer... ^_^_


End file.
